Home completions up 34 per cent at MJ Gleeson

Urban regeneration specialist MJ Gleeson saw home completions rise 34 per cent in the last year.

The firm, which builds affordable housing under the Gleeson Homes brand, said it constructed 751 homes in the 12 months to June 30, compared to 561 the previous year.

The sale of land at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire helped boost profitability for the year, it said in a trading update.

Owned and conditionally purchased plots were up 63 per cent year-on-year compared to the prior year, totalling 7,496 plots. Almost 4,000 of these are subject to planning permission.

It has an additional 460 plots in the pipeline and is currently active on 42 sites. This is set to rise to 50 by the end of the year.

The firm saw a slight dip in its forward orders, with 337 homes - or £43.9m - compared to the prior year order book of 356 homes totalling £44.2m.

Gleeson Homes remains on track to reach its target of building 1,000 new homes a year and beyond, “in the foreseeable future, it said.

MJ Gleeson’s strategic land business, which purchases development land predominantly in the South of England, successfully disposed of five sites comprising of 62.2 acres with the potential to deliver 460 plots for housing development and 1.5 acres of commercial land.

These transactions will result in a “significant improvement” in profitability for the year, it said.

Cash balances at MJ Gleeson were £16.2m on June 30, up from £13.8m in 2014.

The board expects the results for the financial year to be ahead of its expectations at its last update, it added.